England are refusing to co-operate with Zimbabwe Cricket over repeated
claims for compensation for the cancelled match at the start of the current
one-day series caused by the tourists' late arrival in
Harare.

The media accreditation dispute, which was
prompted by the Zimbabwe Government refusing to allow 13 British journalists
entry into the country, persuaded England to stay in Johannesburg for two
days while the problem was resolved.

It delayed their
arrival in Zimbabwe until last Friday, the date of the opening match of the
series, and the two boards agreed to reschedule the four matches which are
due to be completed with back-to-back games at the Queens Club in Bulawayo
this weekend.

But Zimbabwe Cricket are now claiming the
cancelled match has cost them US$600,000 in lost revenue - a figure England
believe to be closer to US$50,000 - following the loss of sponsors and
television coverage and are planning to approach the touring side again to
settle compensation.

"We will meet the ECB soon to discuss
the matter and deal with it in an amicable and professional manner,"
explained Ozias Bvute, the acting managing director of Zimbabwe
Cricket.

He is expected to receive the same response that he
was given by David Morgan, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket
Board, after he was first approached to discuss the issue of
compensation.

"Zimbabwe cricket have indicated they have
suffered a significant financial penalty as a result of there being one
fewer match," said Morgan. "We've made it clear we don't think the ECB are
liable for that loss and that it's a direct result of the delay in media
accreditation."

That stance remained unchanged today
following the fresh claims from Zimbabwe Cricket with Andrew Walpole,
England's media relations manager, adding: "We continue to attribute any
loss to the delay in accrediting the 13 UK journalists. The figure quoted is
incorrect and a far smaller sum is at issue."

In a 2 December 2004 letter to
President Robert Mugabe, CPJ expressed its outage over the government's
continued clampdown on independent media in Zimbabwe, including proposed new
legislation that could be used to jail journalists for up to 20
years.

At a time when several other African
countries are lifting criminal sanctions for press offences, bringing their laws
in line with international standards, Zimbabwe's government is preparing to
introduce penalties that are among the harshest on the continent. In the letter,
CPJ said that this will only further impede Zimbabwe's media, which already face
other restrictive laws.

According to local and international
press reports, the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill currently before
Parliament imposes up to 20 years' imprisonment, heavy fines, or both for
publishing "false" information deemed prejudicial against the state. Clause 31
would make it an offence to publish or communicate "to any other person a
statement which is wholly or materially false with the intention or realizing
that that there is a real risk of inciting or promoting public disorder or
public violence or endangering public safety; or adversely affecting the defence
and economic interests of Zimbabwe; or undermining public confidence in a law
enforcement agency, the Prison Service or the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe; or
interfering with, disrupting or interrupting any essential service."

This comes on top of the already
draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and
Public Privacy Act (AIPPA), which was last month strengthened to impose a jail
sentence of up to two years for any journalist caught working without
accreditation from the government-controlled media commission. Dozens of
journalists have already been detained and harassed under AIPPA and POSA since
these laws were introduced in 2002, while AIPPA has been used to shutter
Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, the "Daily News".

As well as intimidating journalists,
CPJ sources say the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Bill could be used to
intimidate their sources. They fear that the law's language could also be used
broadly against Zimbabweans who communicate with news outlets and other
organizations based abroad.

These moves to tighten already
restrictive legislation come in the run-up to general elections scheduled for
March 2005.

In its letter, CPJ reminded
President Mugabe of Zimbabwe's commitment to the Southern African Development
Community principles and guidelines governing democratic elections, which
include safeguarding freedom of expression and access to the media (Section
7.4).

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to the
president:

- calling on him to do everything in
his power to ensure that all repressive media legislation is repealed and that
the draconian proposals currently before Parliament are dropped

- urging him to do all in his power
to allow the "Daily News" to reopen and independent journalists to work in
Zimbabwe without fear of reprisal

Zimbabwe

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO
ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

“Mauritius Watch”

The Zimbabwean
Elections:

(Monitoring
SADC Protocol Violations)

Issue 6.29 November 2004

On August 17 2004, SADC leaders meeting in Mauritius adopted the SADC
Protocol – Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.Zimbabwe, as a member of SADC, also signed
the Protocol and committed itself to implementing its standards.

“Mauritius Watch” provides a
regular, objective and non-partisan assessment of Zimbabwe’s compliance with the
Protocol.In the run-up to the 2005
Parliamentary Elections we note any significant failures to adhere to the SADC
standards.

Date

Incidents/Developments

SADC
standards breached

26.11.04

MUGABE
SCUTTLES LAST FREEDOMS

President
Robert Mugabe’s regime has rushed through Parliament some of the most repressive
laws ever seen in Zimbabwe’s history.Against spirited opposition from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
legislators, Mr Mugabe’sZANU PF party
used its numerical majority to ram through the Non-Government Organizations Bill
and the Electoral Commission Bill.The
first will effectively cripple human rights groups and allow the regime’s abuses
to pass unrecorded;the second will
ensure that Mugabe’s allies run the parliamentary elections due in March
2005.A last minute concession granted
NGOs a six- month grace period to regularize their operations once the Bill is
passed, but it is not thought this will assist NGOs concerned with so-called
“governance” issues (which include human rights and electoral issues) and which,
under the new Bill, areprohibited from
receiving any foreign funding.

It
is understood the regime has a hit list of between 15 and 20 organizations which
it has targeted for closure.On the list
isevery human rights group in the
country, including Crisis in Zimbabwe,the National Constitutional Assembly(NCA),the Media Institute of
Southern Africa, Lawyers for Human Rights, Amani Trust, Women Of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA) and Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN).Innocent Gonese, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) chief whip, pointed out that all these groups are heavily dependent
on outside funding.He added: “What they
(the government) are trying to do is to effectively prevent non-governmental
organizations from reporting on their bad human rights record. Abuses of human
rights will go unrecorded.”

Prior
to the parliamentary polls of 2000, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum recorded 37
political murders and 18 000 other abuses, ranging from assault and torture to
abduction and rape.It blamed ZANU PF
for more than 90 per cent of all offences.

7.4.(Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all
citizens including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression
and campaigning …

7.5.(Government to) take all necessary measures and precautions to
prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices
throughout the whole electoral process, in order to maintain peace and
security

27.11.04

HUMAN
RIGHTS LAWYERS PETITION AFRICA COMMISSION

Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has taken the forced closure of the country’s
biggest and only independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, and several other
cases of alleged miscarriages of justice, before the Africa Commission on Human
Rights (ACHR).

ZLHR
director, Arnold Tsunga, and a human rights law professor at South Africa’s
University of Pretoria, Michel Hansungule, travelled to the Senegalese capital,
Dakar, at the end of November to present their case to the
Commission.

Their
petition is based on the refusal of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe to hear an
application by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) against the requirement
that it register with the government’s Media and Information Commission before
being allowed to publish the Daily News. This refusal to consider the ANZ
application was a violation of the Africa Charter on Human Rights, ZLHR
said.Until its forced closure in
September 2003, the Daily News provided a vital independent voice for the
nation.

ZLHR
also wants the commission to determine whether the government’s Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which requires journalists
and media companies to register before they can operate, is consistent with
fundamental human rights.

Other
cases to be brought before the commission include the unresolved petitions
before the courts submitted by Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), challenging “victories” by ruling ZANU PF
candidates in 37 constituencies in the 2000 general election.Although the legal challenges were mounted
over four years ago, and the next general election is only four months
away,most remain
unresolved.

See
the report in Zim Online (November 27) -
www.zimonline.co.za

2.1.7.Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral
institutions

2.1.10Challenge of the election results as provided for in the law of the
land

4.1.1.Constitutional and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the
citizens

7.4.(Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all
citizens, including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression
and campaigning as well as access to the media on the part of all stakeholders
during the electoral process …

24.11.04

EU TAKES ZIMBABWE’S HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS TO UN
COMMITTEE

The European Union (EU) will ask the Third Committee of the
United Nations (UN) to discuss Zimbabwe’s deteriorating human rights situation
at its 59th session in early December.

A resolution to be presented to the key committee by the
Netherlands on behalf of the EU will also request the committee to note that
conditions do not exist in Zimbabwe for the holding of a free and fair general
election in 2005.

In a statement last week, the deputy permanent
representative of the Netherlands to the UN, Arjan Hamburger, said: “We are ….
concerned about the restrictions on the freedom to operate without fear of
harassment and intimidation of members of parliament, independent civil society
and human rights defenders.”

Reported by Zim Online – November 24 - www.zimonline.co.za

4.1.2.Conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful
elections

7.4.(Government to) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all
citizens, including the freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression
and campaigning … during the electoral process

29.11.04

HUMAN
RIGHTS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DANGER TO DEMOCRACY

A
major human rights report released in Johannesburg on November 19 highlights one
of the threats to democracy in Zimbabwe caused by the mass exodus of millions of
citizens from that country and the Mugabe regime’s refusal to permit them to
vote in the forthcoming general election.

The
Solidarity Peace Trust Report entitled “No War in Zimbabwe” (which takes its
name from a statement made by the SA Dept of Home Affairs) chronicles the
difficulties and dangers faced by Zimbabwean exiles in South Africa.It also notes the reasons why such huge
numbers have fled their home country.

The
authors of the report estimate that 300 000 people have been victims of various
human rights abuses in Zimbabwe over the last four years, including torture,
denial of food, burning of homesteads and the massive displacement of those
fleeing political persecution or farm invasions. Around 300 people have been
murdered for political reasons.

Estimates
of the number of refugees now living in South Africa and elsewhere are
particularly revealing.The report says
that between 25 and 30 per cent of Zimbabwe’s population have now fled the
country. The government’s own estimates put the number at 3.4 million.Out of a total population of 12 million,
approximately half are under the age of 15 and, of the remaining 6 million
adults, 1 million are retired.This
means that, out of 5 million potentially productive adults, 3.4 million, or a
staggering 60 to 70 percent, are now living outside
Zimbabwe.

The
Mugabe’s regime’s decision not to allow citizens living abroad to vote in the
2005 election, has effectively disenfranchised close to half of the
population.The authors of the report
write: “With 50 per cent of voting age adults outside Zimbabwe the implications
for democracy are dire. Half the population will be deprived of its vote in next
year’s elections.”

The
Solidarity Peace Trust Report “No War in Zimbabwe” may be viewed on -
www.humanrightsfirst.org

2.1.6.Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted
for

4.1.3.Non-discrimination in the voters’ registration

28.11.04

AMNESTY CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF
BILL

Amnesty
International (AI) has called for the withdrawal of the draft Electoral
Commission Bill on the basis that the proposed legislation is “flawed” and needs
to be “appropriately reviewed”. The international human rights group said the
Bill lacked key provisions that would ensure the independence of the commission
during general elections in March 2005.

AI said in a
briefing paper that in at least four key areas the provisions fell short of the
benchmark for democratic elections agreed to by the Southern African Development
Community (SADC).It noted that the Bill
failed to “adequately restrict” top ruling party officials from being appointed
as commissioners and provided opportunities for government meddling in the work
of the electoral authority.

The Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) legal affairs secretary, David Coltart, said that
efforts to get any crucial parts of the bill changed in Parliament had been
unsuccessful. Of particular concern to the opposition was the provision in the
Bill enabling the commission to force anyone providing voter education to
furnish it with information, including funding sources, and the imposition of a
criminal penalty (a fine or up to two years imprisonment) for non-compliance.
“This is in complete violation of the
constitution, which enshrines the freedom of expression,” said
Coltart.

On the basis of these and numerous other daily
breaches of the SADC Protocol on Democratic Elections, it can be seen that the
Mugabe regime has yet to show any serious intent to change its ways or to begin
to prepare for anything resembling fair and free elections.In fact, the reforms they are proposing will
result in a situation even worse than that which prevailed during the
Parliamentary Elections of 2000 and the Presidential Election of 2002, both of
which were heavily criticized by observer missions from the international
community.

And the March 2005 Parliamentary Elections are
now a matter of weeks away …..

How did England's cricketers end up
playing in Zimbabwe, where a tyrant rules and millions starve? Des Wilson
blames Jack Straw, as well as the game's amoral leaders.

In
January this year Phil Edmonds, the outspoken former England spin-bowler,
now chairman of Middlesex County Cricket Club, attended his first meeting of
the England and Wales Cricket Board (the ECB). About the planned tour to
Zimbabwe, he was uncompromising. It should be "cancelled forthwith". The
board was "obsessed with money"; it was time to make a moral stand. One
board member, he said, "sounded like a Nazi". It was gloriously over the
top, but welcome to me, who was at that time one of few board members openly
opposed to the tour. I looked forward to Edmonds's support when the debate
was renewed at the following meeting. As I entered the gates of Lord's for
that next meeting, I saw Edmonds climbing into a car and disappearing at
speed in the opposite direction. At the meeting, all was explained: Edmonds
had discovered a business interest in Zimbabwe and was, therefore,
withdrawing from the board until the Zimbabwe matter was resolved. I haven't
seen him since.

The ease with which he was despatched - or
despatched himself - intensified my fear that the ECB was now hell-bent on
repeating the debacle of England's World Cup campaign a year earlier, when
the players forced the board to cancel the Zimbabwe fixture after days of
chaos and confusion. Three factors contributed to that fiasco. First, ever
since England kept trying to play South Africa in the apartheid era, English
cricket had never moved from mindless adherence to the doctrine that
"there's no place for politics in sport". Yet - and this is the second
factor - the International Cricket Council (the ICC) is riven with politics,
much of it motivated by dislike of England. Rather than being sympathetic to
England's difficulties over Zimbabwe, some countries could barely disguise
their glee. Third, English cricket had become totally dependent upon its
earnings from international cricket. Without that money, most of the 18
first-class counties would be bankrupt. Without a moral dimension to their
thinking, those who ran English cricket allowed money to dictate every
decision.

When I joined the board, I was asked to advise it on the
"Zimbabwe problem" and to explore ways whereby the tour about to take place
could be cancelled without paying too high a price, financial or diplomatic.
I believed it could be - and still believe it could have - but it called for
a principled stand by both the ECB and the Foreign Office. Alas, that was
beyond them both. The strategy had two parts, one dependent on Jack Straw.
While the ICC rules did not allow tours to be cancelled for "political or
moral considerations", it did allow force majeure. This meant a tour could
be cancelled if the government issued a clear instruction to that effect. It
was, therefore, vital that we received from the Foreign Secretary if not a
firm instruction, at least powerful advice that could be interpreted as one.
Second, the ECB needed what it had lacked for more than 30 years: an
intellectual and moral basis for taking decisions on controversial tours.
The plan was to publish a "framework paper" and then a follow-up paper
applying its principles to the Zimbabwe tour. This, we hoped, would win
support from politicians, the public and the cricket world, and give the ECB
the moral high ground. For that reason, we were keen to publish it before
any Straw intervention so that we didn't appear to be acting only because we
were being forced to do the right thing.

The framework paper
argued that "to seek to isolate sport as an activity that stands alone in
human affairs, untouched by 'politics' or 'moral considerations' and
unconcerned for the fate of those deprived of human rights, is as
unrealistic as it is (self-destructively) self-serving..." It identified
five factors that could lead to abandonment of a tour: a threat to the
safety and security of the players; impacts on the integrity of a tour
(racism, or restrictions on freedom of expression); relationship with
British foreign policy; the views of the cricket world; and moral
considerations - in particular, whether the tour would give succour to a
despotic dictator. At every point in preparing the paper and the strategy, I
worked closely with the two men who had involved me in the first place -
David Morgan, the ECB chairman, and Tim Lamb, the then chief executive.
Assuring me that they both believed a majority of board members were opposed
to the tour, they not only contributed to and approved the framework paper,
but also approved the date and the manner of its release.

So,
with work on the paper under way, I approached Straw's office. Since the UK
had been instrumental in forcing Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth and had
been pressing both the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to
impose sanctions, we were optimistic, and were at first encouraged. We were
"all on the same side"; the FO would do "all in its power to help". While it
would not actually instruct the ECB not to tour - Straw did not want to set
a precedent and was afraid of having to pay financial compensation - it was
sympathetic to an alternative idea: the ECB would ask for advice, and Straw
would reply, offering the "strongest possible" advice not to go. We hoped we
could convince the ICC that this was the nearest to an instruction you could
achieve in a democracy. Then I was shown a draft of Straw's letter. Far from
offering the "strongest possible" advice, it offered none at all. It simply
spelled out what we all knew about the Mugabe regime and stated that the UK
was taking "a leading role" in mobilising international pressure for change.
All I could do was persuade the FO to add a sentence. Following the claim
that the UK was "taking a leading role" internationally, it would say: "You
may wish to consider whether a high-profile England cricket tour at this
time is consistent with that approach." This sentence was small consolation,
for while the media could possibly be persuaded to read it as advising the
ECB not to go, there was no chance the ICC would.

HARARE -
President Robert Mugabe on Thursday officially opened Zanu PF's fourth
National Congress, in Harare, with a call to shun tribal division which is
slowly creeping into the 42-year-old party.

Addressing more
than 7 500 delegates at the congress, Mugabe said the party was concerned
with traits of tribalism which were beginning to show in the
party.

He said party supporters should remain united against
what he called enemies of the unity which was forged between Zanu PF and
Zapu in 1987. He said party detractors had even gone to the extent of
creating an opposition party which was bent on destabilising the country,
with some of them even infiltrating the party.

His
sentiments come in the wake of recent accusations from some sections of the
party who are alleging that his iron hand in dealing with party issues had
also shown traits of tribalism.

Some of the delegates from
Matabeleland, Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland Provinces said they had come
to the congress only to fulfill their leaders' wish.

They
also alleged that the last minute suspensions of six provincial chairmen, on
the eve of the congress, had dampened their spirits as they did not see
anything wrong in the Tsholotsho meeting.

"Our party seems to
be living in the past because democracy is always viewed in the eyes of our
leaders with us not being allowed to express our views.

"When the chairmen went to the Tsholotsho meeting, they thought they were
exercising their democratic right to participate in the process of electing
a vice president for the party, but look at what has happened," said one of
the delegates from Masvingo province.

He also said the
suspensions were a calculated move to drum up support for Joyce Mujuru from
all the delegates at the congress.

"If majority rule is like
that, then I think we still have a long way to go before we realise it," he
added.

Other delegates who spoke to The Daily News Online at
the various resting places dotted in the outskirts of the capital city,
said

the party had failed to observe its own principles of
democracy when it suspended the six provincial chairmen on the eve the
historic national congress.

"Some of the delegates from the
affected provinces are not happy with what is happening at the congress but
they know that if they try to air their grievances, they will be labeled
party rebels.

"This is not good for democracy because the party
should have allowed the democratic process to take its
course.

"We are in agreement on the issue of a woman vice
president for the party, but are very much against the idea of forcing
people to support any candidate thought to be the right candidate by a
section of the party," said one of the delegates from Matebelelad Province
who said people from his province had only come to the congress for fear of
being labelled rebels.

The delegate also said the party had
failed to address the issue of tribal balance in selecting people into the
presidium. He said the

nomination of Joseph Msika, Joyce Mujuru and
president Mugabe into the presidium, was biased towards a Zezuru hegemony,
which the party had failed to address even during the days of the Unity
Accord between Zapu and Zanu PF.

The delegate said although
Muzenda was not popular with people from Masvingo, his presence in the
presidium was welcome as it partially addressed the issue of tribal
balance.

He however said people from Matabeleland provinces
were not seriously affected by the problem as they had John Nkomo to
represent them, adding that Msika was not supposed to be given special
treatment.

"In the days of Zapu, it was known that Msika was
Zezuru and that he represented the interests of Zezurus in the party. This
tag should have been removed when we signed the unity agreement but the guy
still enjoys the special treatment which he used to receive in the old Zapu.
If we continue to see each other in that perspective, then the whole issue
of unity is just a pie in the sky," said the delegate.

He
said everyone would have loved a situation where all the tribal groups were
well represented in the party's presidium but what delegates were now
endorsing was the continuation of the Zezuru dynasty.

AS the Zanu PF
story takes new twists and political intrigue continues, three Cabinet
ministers and a provincial governor face the sack for their role in the
much-publicised Tsholotsho Declaration.

The Tsholotsho meeting
was meant to prop up Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa as the new
vice-president ahead of pre-congress favourite Joyce
Mujuru.

The ruling Zanu PF party has already suspended six
provincial chairpersons who attended the private and unsanctioned meeting
called by Information minister Jonathan Moyo in Tsholotsho, who has himself
been heavily reprimanded pending a final decision on his
fate.

Authoritative sources in Zanu PF told The Daily News
Online on the sidelines of the on-going party's Congress that the party was
in danger of a serious rift and that President Mugabe will certainly fire
three of his Cabinet ministers and a governor to send a clear message to
senior members on the dangers of dissent.

The sources said
those facing the chop were Moyo, Justice, Legal and Paliamentary Affairs
minister Patrick Chinamasa and Energy and Power Development minister July
Moyo, who was chairman of the Midlands province and has since been
suspended.

Chinamasa was nominated chairman by most of the
suspended chairpersons ahead of party favourite John Nkomo.

"The three Cabinet ministers face the chop in a reshuffle expected any time
before the new year and Masvingo governor Josaya Hungwe is not likely to be
re-appointed following his role in influencing the provincial executive in
Masvingo to defy the party directive and voting for Mnangagwa and
Chinamasa," the source said.

The suspended provincial
chairpersons are said to have mentioned several politicians who had
influenced their voting patterns and it is understood that TeleAccess boss
and Masvingo provincial chairman, Daniel Shumba, told Mugabe that Hungwe had
influenced the provincial vote by heavily lobbying for Mnangagwa and
Chinamasa.

He said for his sins, Shumba was being probed for
externalising foreign currency as well as a separate probe on why his
company has failed to operate the second fixed telephone network despite
being awarded a licence two years ago.

As part of the plot
to deal decisively with Mnangagwa and his lieutenants, the sources pointed
to Thursday's demonstration in Masvingo, where thousands of ordinary party
cadres, war veterans and war collaborators dissociated themselves from
Mnangagwa and said their choice as a province was Mujuru.

The protesters urged the party to oust the Shumba-led executive. The sources
said Mugabe wanted to send a clear message that dissent is not allowed in
Zanu PF while at the same making sure that he does not split the
party.

"It is clear that Mnangagwa was the brains behind
the Tsholotsho Declaration, but he is not likely to face any disciplinary
action because he could turn out to be a rallying point for a new party if
the entire bloc is fired, so the only plausible action is to fire his
lieutenants, who are junior in the party and therefore do not have any
potential of forming a new party which could deal a blow to Zanu PF's
chances ahead of parliamentary elections next March," the source
added.

The revelations come amid separate calls for Mugabe to
deal decisively with Moyo, who is unpopular for his criticism of senior
party members through his various columns in the state
media.

Through his involvement in Mnangagwa's failed bid for
vice presidency, Moyo's detractors have been blessed with a fresh window of
attack, urging Mugabe to fire his trusted information chief if unity is to
be maintained in the party.

Moyo's critics reportedly want
stern action taken by Mugabe since the acid-tongued information supremo was
appointed to the government and the Politburo at the behest of Mugabe
himself.

But analysts added that whatever the bold declarations
at Congress and Mugabe's calls for unity, Zanu PF would remain scathed by
the revelations of vote-buying and secret meetings by its power hungry
senior members.

"The party has been seriously dented and
regardless of these moves to rid the Cabinet of Mnangagwa's lieutenants, the
cohesion within Zanu PF will never be the same again after the Tsholotsho
declaration," one political observer noted.

"The problem is
that despite the Mnangagwa faction being vilified for being power hungry and
for defying party directives, there are others who believe they have a point
especially as it is certain that the Presidium will have three Shonas in
Mugabe, Mujuru and Msika if the nominations are ratified at Congress. These
people believe they have a point in that other tribes should be given a
chance at the top echelons of power."

Joaquim Chissano, the retiring Mozambican president, said
today that democracy could not be "forced" on Zimbabwe from outside and that
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, should not be expected to follow his
own example by stepping down.

Chissano, due to retire as president in
January after 18 years in power in Mozambique, told a congress of Mugabe's
ruling ZANU(PF) party his country would continue to support Zimbabwe because
of their shared liberation struggle. Zimbabweans should find solutions to
their own problems and must not be forced into asking when Mugabe - now 80
years old and in power for 24 years - would be going, he
said.

Neighbouring Mozambique offered Zimbabwean liberation war fighters
military bases from which to fight the Rhodesian government in the 1970s.
The former British colony was known as Rhodesia before independence in 1980.
Mozambique, riven by its own civil war that ended in 1992, held its third
democratic elections this week to choose a successor to Chissano who
declined to stand for a third term, saying the country needed change to
allow democracy to thrive.

Mugabe shows no sign of stepping aside. He
has already been endorsed by ZANU(PF) leaders for another term as party
chief and his presidential term does not end until 2008. Mugabe has retained
a firm grip on the party despite an economic crisis widely blamed on
government mismanagement, and characterised by record inflation,
unemployment and shortages of foreign currency and fuel. - Reuters

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe,
speaking at the ruling Zanu-PF's annual congress in Harare, roused his party
supporters with rambling tales about Tony Blair, Adam and Eve, and claimed
that 400 British companies in Zimbabwe were remitting profits.

It was
a familiar script, and for 90 minutes a robust-looking Mugabe, 80, addressed
about 9 000 Zanu-PF delegates who gathered in a purple and gilt auditorium
in Harare to rubber-stamp new executives to run the party for the next four
years.

He had them rolling with laughter when he referred to a familiar
theme, homosexuality: "Perhaps a new kind of demon to be found in Britain
has spread its own little demons across the globe.

ow a woman can be
a man, and a man can be a woman, just imagine what sort of people they are
who can turn a man into a woman.

"I am glad in Africa we have not been
persuaded to accept this new teaching, that although God created a man and
called him Adam, and another person born out of the rib, called Eve, with
different biological characteristics... that God was wrong.
Amen."

The squabbling in Zanu-PF which last week led to "exposure" of an
alleged plot to try and prevent Joyce Mujuru, 49, a former fighter in the
liberation war becoming vice-president of the party, was quelled by Mugabe
in a mere couple of sentences.

The main "plotter", Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo, was reprimanded by Mugabe. Six more provincial party
chairpersons and a leading war veteran were suspended from the
party.

Mugabe stitched over any divisions and opted instead to praise the
unity of Zanu-PF which he said had reduced the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change to "extinction" and said its president Morgan Tsvangirai
was forced to seek support from Europe.

"Our enemies and detractors
... resorted to various machinations, including the formation of stooge
opposition parties, they have come and gone ... and just now the way is very
clear for the extinction of yet another stooge party. Most of its senior
leaders are not in the country, they have gone where they think they belong,
to Britain.

"That's where Tsvangirai is, in Europe, let him enjoy the
status of Europe, that is why he is revered as the leader of Zimbabwe, but
here you can't even spell his name, can you?"

Tsvangirai visited
several heads of state in Africa before moving on to Europe after he was
acquitted of treason six weeks ago.He is expected to return to Zimbabwe on
Saturday and will decide before the end of the year whether his party will
contest the elections in March.

Several banners in the auditorium
reflected Mugabe's slogan for the general election in March: "2005 - anti
Blair vote." Another read: "MDC Blair's running dogs."

Mugabe told
the congress that 400 British companies traded in Zimbabwe. "I don't know if
Mr Blair knows that and they are making profits, their dividends are being
remitted to Britain.

"So one would hope the British government will
renege on its course of wanting the Zimbabwe economy to collapse and instead
try to ensure that our international environment is such that Zimbabwe can
prosper, and the prosperity of Zimbabwe will be prosperity for Britons
here."

In a rejoinder, economist John Robertson said on Thursday: "I
doubt very much whether British companies are allowed to remit their
dividends as Zimbabwe has been terribly short of foreign currency for a long
time."

On Thursday journalists and a camera crew from the BBC were
accredited to cover the congress.

Harare -
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling party met on Friday to plot
strategy and reinforce discipline after an unexpected succession struggle
rocked the party a few months ahead of parliamentary elections.

The ruling Zanu-PF party's co-Vice President Joseph Msika, also Mugabe's
deputy, called the five-day congress a reminder of Zimbabwe's bloody war for
independence from Britain, which he said some party members were now taking
lightly.

"These people... take things for granted. They don't seem
to see that it was a protracted struggle," Msika said in an emotionally
charged speech.

Analysts say Mugabe and Msika, both in their 80's,
have come under increasing pressure within the ruling party to quit and make
way for younger blood as the country grapples with a political and economic
crisis widely blamed on the leadership. Mugabe, who still retains a firm
grip on the party, has already been endorsed by Zanu-PF leaders for another
term as party chief and his presidential term does not end until 2008. Msika
has also indicated he is not ready to retire any time soon.

Mugabe threw the party into disarray last month by bowing into pressure to
select Joyce Mujuru as the first woman co-vice president of the party,
sidelining speaker of parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was seen as his
heir apparent.

Earlier this week the ruling party suspended seven
top officials and reprimanded another for their role in an alleged plot to
push Mnangagwa's bid for the post, seen as a stepping stone to the helm of
the party and the country's leadership.

The wrangling could
leave Zanu-PF weak as it faces up to the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change in parliamentary elections scheduled for March next
year.

On Friday, outgoing Mozambican President Joachim Chissano
threw his weight behind Mugabe's leadership, telling the congress he had
kept the country and party united both during the liberation struggle and
after independence.

Chissano - due to retire as president in
January after 18 years in power - said Mugabe should not be expected to
follow his own example by stepping down.

"Don't say because
Chissano has pulled out, so and so must pull out. It is because my country
is now stable," he said.

"It is because within our party we have
reached harmony and it was easy for us to select a successor," he added in a
tacit reference to Zanu-PF's succession wrangles. The five-day congress ends
on Saturday.

ZANU-PF National Chairman Cde John Nkomo yesterday
said there was need to revisit the party's code of conduct and reprimand
wayward members that were using money to buy people's support and causing
division in the party.

Cde Nkomo was speaking at the ruling party's
Fourth National People's Congress that is being held in Harare.

"We
need to revisit the party code. We have seen the use of money and attempts
to undermine the party and create divisions.

"All those responsible for
wayward behaviour must be properly sanctioned," said Cde Nkomo.

The
party this week suspended six provincial chairmen who took part in the
controversial Tsholotsho meeting two weeks ago.

The party also
suspended Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association chairman
Cde Jabulani Sibanda for four years for participating in the same meeting
and over previous cases of indiscipline.

Cde Nkomo said although Zanu-PF
had faced numerous challenges in the past, it has emerged stronger, making
it a confident and rejuvenated party.

Said Cde Nkomo: "The land reform
programme has been successful. The foundation has been laid and the process
is in motion.

"We have to be aware that the enemy is analysing every act
and utterance."

Cde Nkomo said President Mugabe, who is the President and
First Secretary of Zanu-PF, has resolutely led the party and the
nation.

Speaking at the same occasion, Harare Metropolitan Province
Resident Minister Cde Witness Mangwende said the capital city was facing
challenges such as of water supply to nearby towns like Chitungwiza and
Norton, refuse collection and street lighting.

He said more land was
also needed for the housing programmes that the city has embarked on. Cde
Mangwende said Harare was initially designed for a small white population
during the colonial era and rehabilitating some of the city's infrastructure
required huge capital injection.

Acting Mayor of Harare Councillor
Sekesayi Makwavarara hailed Government for the support it is giving to
council.

Clr Makwavarara, who defected from the opposition MDC to join
Zanu-PF and formally announced her new political affiliation on Heroes' Day
in August this year, said relations between Harare and the Ministry of Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing had improved and both parties
were working together for the improvement of the city. She thanked President
Mugabe and the party for the nomination of Cde Joyce Mujuru to the post of
Vice-President.

Seven provinces nominated Cde Mujuru, who is
Secretary for Education in the party, as one of the candidates for the
Presidium.

She is tipped to be endorsed by the party to the post that
fell vacant following the death of Cde Simon Muzenda last year.

At
least 7 000 delegates from all parts of the country are attending the
conference which began on Wednesday and ends on Sunday.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has turned against and
blasted his one-time top propagandist, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo,
accusing him of attempting to stage a coup in Zanu PF. Moyo endured the
scathing attack and humiliation at the ruling party's central committee
meeting which took up almost the entire day yesterday. Mugabe, according to
a source within the committee, was so furious with Moyo that he said the
party would disregard all that Moyo had done for Zanu PF and the Zimbabwean
government in the past. The attack came a day after Zanu PF's police
committee reprimanded Moyo and suspended six provincial chairmen for
convening an "unauthorised" meeting in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North, two
weeks ago. The meeting, dubbed the Tsholotsho Declaration, was intended to
defy Mugabe's endorsement of Water Affairs Minister Joyce Mujuru as the
first female candidate for Zanu's vice-presidency. Moyo and his six
supporters were lobbying for Zimbabwe's speaker of parliament, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, but Mujuru has the overwhelming backing of seven of the 10
provinces. The highly contested position of Zanu PF's second vice-president
was left vacant when Simon Muzenda died last year.

The Tsholotsho
seven were also plotting to replace Zanu PF chairman John Nkomo with Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa. It is alleged that Nkomo was targeted for
speaking out about Zanu PF leaders who had grabbed more than one farm in the
controversial land reform programme. Nkomo told Zanu PF's official
newspaper, the Voice, that the divisions within the party were so rife that
some of the "comrades" had resorted to paying delegates to vote for their
favourite candidates. Mugabe accused Moyo of masterminding a leadership coup
in Zanu PF, an offence the president described as "unforgivable". The source
said Moyo had opened old wounds that reminded Mugabe that Moyo was the same
man who used to write academic papers and articles for newspapers
criticising Mugabe's presidency and Zanu PF.

This morning a diplomat
described the situation as the beginning of the end for Moyo in Zimbabwean
politics. "He has given his detractors in Zanu PF, the old Zanu PF veterans,
ammunition for finishing him off, because he has never been welcome in the
organisation, they never forgave him for what he used to write and say about
the party and Mugabe before his Damascene conversion. "He will be reminded
that he is not that powerful after all. Now is the chance. He is finished,"
said the diplomat. Moyo has been tacitly stripped of his role as a
propagandist in favour of Zanu PF's old warhorse, the party's publicity
secretary Nathan Shamuyarira. Shamuyarira has accredited foreign journalists
to cover the congress and the current cricket tour by England. Shamuyarira
warmly welcomed the foreign press corps last night, a gesture that is alien
to Zanu PF and the Zimbabwean government.

Beleaguered Zimbabwean Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo hit out at his colleagues yesterday, accusing them of engineering a
failed palace coup in the Zanu PF power struggle. Moyo, his cabinet
colleague July Moyo and six other senior ranking Zanu PF officials were
either suspended or heavily reprimanded for defying a party resolution to
support a woman candidate, Joyce Mujuru, for the post of second deputy
president. They are said to have been part of a faction within the party
campaigning for Mujuru's rival, Emmerson Mnangagwa. They are said to have
held a meeting at Moyo's rural village in Tsholotsho to map a strategy for
the elections. Mnangagwa has since lost the bid. Moyo, President Robert
Mugabe's propagandist and spokesman, described the accusations against him
as "ugly lies" and "pure fiction". Moyo's angry reaction came as Mugabe
further warned at his party's congress yesterday that those with "misguided
ambitions" for power would be dealt with. But Moyo said the allegations
against him were similar to "false intelligence used by US President George
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to invade Iraq to remove
non-existent weapons of mass destruction". "It is pure fiction that does not
help anyone," Moyo wrote in a report to Mugabe. Moyo said there were no
sinister motives behind the Tsholotsho meeting, which was allegedly
disguised as a prize giving ceremony. "What we have here is an allegation
whose purpose is to smear imagined or real opponents in order to attack
their integrity."

Harare: The ANC has displayed its unequivocal support for Zanu-PF and its
political and economic policies

In a message at Zanu-PF's fourth
congress yesterday, the ANC's representative and former deputy
secretary-general, Henry Makgothi, said the South African ruling party still
had great confidence in the Zanu-PF government.

"Our national
executive of the ANC and the people of South Africa (are) confident that
Zanu-PF as a party of revolution will continue to play a leading role to
assert the political and economic independence of Zimbabwe.

"As
the ANC we take pride in the bilateral relations that we have forged over
the years of the struggle and we are confident that this conference will
emerge with concrete measures to respond to the challenges that the people
of Zimbabwe face.

"The ANC wishes to reiterate its firm support
for the people of Zimbabwe under the leadership of Zanu-PF," said
Makgothi.

In Cape Town, the Democratic Alliance's Joe Seremane said
in a statement: "The ANC's attendance can only be viewed as a visible
endorsement of Zanu-PF's patently undemocratic policies and
practices.

"The ANC's decision to be present in Harare today is
also the clearest indication yet that the ANC's loyalties lie more closely
with Zanu-PF than they do with its own alliance partners."

He
said it also directly contradicted a recent statement made by Deputy
President Jacob Zuma that the government had never taken sides between
ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC.